Rocky

Enthusiastic but confused. If your parents named you Roderick, you'd go by Rocky, too.

[Jack Straw ☮️✌️🇺🇸 @jackstrawgfdead]

And the seeds that were silent all burst into bloom and decay
And night comes so quiet, it's close on the heels of the day…

[Jerry Garcia @jerrygarcia]

.@RollingStone missed an opportunity to title this article “Dire Wolf Bust Out!” *First appearance in 10,000 years
https://t.co/yxAH1HchOC

[Michael O. Moore @SenMikeMoore]

The CCC desperately needs to be reformed. It is past time that the Legislature commits to working with the Governor, Attorney General, and Inspector General to find a solution that makes the CCC work for all Bay Staters — and quickly.
https://t.co/r7TKK7ss5s

[Dr. Hunter S. Thompson @GonzoVice]

On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.

[Kyle Sherman @KyleSherman]

I find it strange that the state of Colorado can successfully deposit cannabis tax dollars into the 4 federal banks they contract with (Chase Bank, Key Bank, Wells Fargo, US Bank) but industry stakeholders are debanked when using the exact same banks. Make it make sense.

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

@GrantSmithEllis Agreed. The Secret Shopper program was a good idea. They should still do it.

Putting the burden on all licensees because some may or may not be cheating just threatens the economics of an already challenged industry.

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

MA_Cannabis abandoned the secret shopper program, instead putting the burden on licensees.

A wholesaler wants to sell a box of 100 1.0g prerolls for $400 ($4/1g pre-roll). Duplicate testing 5% of the box costs $445 (incl transport).

How does this make sense?

@GrantSmithEllis

[Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission @MA_Cannabis]

The Commission’s Investigations and Enforcement Department reminds Licensees of their obligation to submit duplicate samples for testing. Read I&E's full bulletin at the following link: https://t.co/agBFHa0wBz

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

@GrantSmithEllis At current market prices, duplicate testing a box of pre-rolls costs more than the wholesaler would receive in total. Does that kill the pre-roll market?

For eighths, duplicate testing costs half the wholesale value.

Can a Manufacturer or Grower afford to comply with this?

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

An Eighth retails for $20, wholesales for $10, with 100 per box. Wholesale value per box is $1,000.

Cost of testing 5% of each box is $475+. That means the Wholesaler gets $5.25 per Eighth not $10.

Did the CCC think this through? Expense of duplicate testing is crippling.

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

@GrantSmithEllis @MA_Cannabis How many times have Commissioners talked about this "Secret Shopper" program at Commission meetings and in the press? And it doesn't exist? I would say I am shocked but I guess I shouldn't be.

[Diti Kohli @ditikohli_]

NEW from @MattPStout: Shannon O'Brien is officially out at the CCC, after state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg fired her today following a year-long suspension. https://t.co/Jrja5QrywU

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

@MA_Cannabis is in total disarray. O'Brien was set up by the now departed senior staff. She has industry and CCC experience. Put her back in the Chair and let her sort the place out.

#mapoli @SenMikeMoore

[Bruce Mohl @BruceMohl]

Treasurer Deborah Goldberg finds herself between a rock and a hard place as she contemplates whether to fire Shannon O’Brien as chair of the Cannabis Control Commission.
https://t.co/4FkrR7Gj1I via @cwbeacon

[Bruce Mohl @BruceMohl]

Treasurer Deborah Goldberg is caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to suspended Cannabis Control Commission chair Shannon O’Brien.
https://t.co/4FkrR7GQRg via @cwbeacon

[Grant Smith Ellis @GrantSmithEllis]

And there is, folks (via @bhaamatib of @CWBeacon).

The acting chair of @MA_Cannabis, Commissioner Kimberly Roy, has now called for a forensic audit of the agency.

Roy, a stalwart advocate of reforming a broken internal culture within the CCC described by some as riddled with nepotism, conflicts of interest, and corruption, was brushed aside by some of her colleagues for months when Roy attempted to raise some of these issues at public meetings.

Eventually, state lawmakers, the state inspector general, and the state auditor, opened probes into some of the conduct Roy had been attempting to discuss at those public meetings.

Within the past year, nearly every department chief (and the CCC’s executive director) have left their position, amid reports of a staff “playbook” to take out Commissioners who attempted to reform the agency coupled with allegations of millions of dollars in missing license fees and concerns that billions of dollars in dangerously contaminated products may have made it to market in Massachusetts.

The CCC will meet again in the coming weeks to determine who will serve in the role of acting-chair going forward following the shock leave of absence taken by former acting chair Ava Concepcion last week. The CCC’s chair, Shannon O’Brien, remains suspended (under curious circumstances, dating to the fall of 2023).

#Mapoli

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

Hey @SenMikeMoore and acting chair @Kimberly_Roy_

This is a really good idea. Why doesn't @MA_Cannabis let growers sell to consumers at Farmers Markets and outdoor festivals?

Level the playing field!

[Marijuana Moment @MarijuanaMoment]

California Senators Approve Bill To Let Marijuana Growers Sell Directly To Consumers At Farmers Markets: The Assembly-passed legislation now heads to the Senate floor.

https://t.co/9apmmHQlii

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

Congrats @Kimberly_Roy_ on being named acting Chair of @MA_Cannabis !!!

Now that you're in charge for a couple of weeks, can you clarify if all licensees can sell "legal THC" online and by mail in Mass or is it just these guys?

[Grant Smith Ellis @GrantSmithEllis]

Good morning, towel friends.

In light of the investigations conflagrating @MA_Cannabis into constant imbroglio, I thought it would be helpful to begin tracking the high-level departures, suspensions and personal-leaves that have confronted the CCC between 2022 and 2024.

#Mapoli

[Bruce Mohl @BruceMohl]

The Cannabis Control Commission showcases its dysfunction as the remaining three board members spend nearly an hour electing an acting leader. One member didn’t want the temporary post and the other two weren’t acceptable to the group.
https://t.co/Wo2uPi0xLa via @cwbeacon

[The Young Jurks @TheYoungJurks]

Receivership for the CCC now! End the shadiness and self dealing

[Rocky @rock_pyle]

Put O'Brien back in the Chair of @MA_Cannabis! She knows the industry and understands the CCC's challenges.

Concepcion is out until at least early 2025 so she will miss the hiring of the new Exec Dir.

Get the CCC back doing the people's business!

[Kevin B. Gilnack @kgilnack]

@MassTreasury @DebGoldbergMA would do everyone a huge service by making her decision on Shannon O'Brien's removal and appointing a permanent chair. #mapoli